2026 Itzulia Basque Country Stage 3 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 3 of the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
Stage 3 of the Tour of the Basque Country takes place on a large loop south of the start and finish town of Basauri. The race is 152.8 kilometres long and includes 2,824 metres of climbing, while the finish line is situated on a 400-metre ramp at 8.8%.
Initially, the riders head south towards Laudio. There they turn right and continue on rolling roads to the west. In Balmaseda, in the valley of the River Kadagua, they change direction and travel east towards the first climb of the day. At the foot of the Barrerilla, the race is roughly halfway.
The Barrerilla is a 5-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 6.6%. The summit sits on a plateau and, around 10 kilometres later, after the intermediate sprint in Altube, the descent begins. It starts steeply and then eases off considerably, but all in all the road trends downhill for roughly 20 kilometres.
The Bikotx-Gane then adds 8-kilometre at 4.9% to the mix before a 5.2-kilometre descent leads onto the Sarasola: 2 kilometres at 5.6%. The road then drifts gently downhill for 20 kilometres towards a short, uncategorised climb of 1.5 kilometres at 6.8%, which the riders already reconnoitred in the neutralised section earlier in the day, albeit as a descent. At the summit, as they pass through the village of Zaratamo, just under 7 kilometres remain.
Following the descent and a gently undulating section, the final kilometre climbs at 6.3% to the finish. The gradient ramps up steadily, with the last 400 metres rising at 8.8%.
The first three riders across the line gain 10, 6, and 4 bonus seconds, while the intermediate sprints offer 6, 4, and 2 seconds.
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